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 Belle & Sebastian... validated

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tonybolony

tonybolony


Posts : 904
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 50
Location : Kingston, Ontario, Canada

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PostSubject: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 3:28 pm

an older post by Derek....
derek wrote:
I'm a little surprised that so many people here either don't like Belle & Sebastian or first started listening to them after listening to CO....

And, although my love for Camera Obscura keeps getting stronger to the point it rivals my Belle & Sebastian obsession... I'm still totally obsessed with B&S and struggle to understand how anyone with good taste in music wouldn't like them.

If you haven't gotten into them yet... don't even start with the albums... listen to the EPs/Singles. The "Push Barman to Open Old Wounds" compilation is a terrific start. It contains all the EPs up until the "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" era. "Lazy Line Painter Jane" and "This Is Just a Modern Rock Song" EPs are absolutely perfect pop creations. One later EP that isn't on that compilation is the "Books" EP/Single, which contains the absolutely wonderful dance song "Your Cover's Blown". Anyone who has ever seen them perform that song live witnessed something totally awesome!

From there... I'd start with the middle albums... "Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant" and "The Boy With the Arab Strap". The first two albums aren't produced as well... but the songs themselves are bionafied classics. As many times (and versions) I've heard "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying", it never gets old.

Not that I think anyone here needs to conform to my tastes... I just think you're doing yourself a real disservice by dismissing Belle & Sebastian

well, i made my mind up to like B&S since reading this and some other raves from the fine folks on this forum and so got some copies of Push Barman and a few of the earlier albums... i made a point of listenin to them in entirety several times and did find a few tunes that would stick with me... "state i'm in", "Lazy Line Painter Jane", "I Love My Car" just to name a few off toppa my head.. but still wasnt convinced of the genius of the band.. i plugged thru a couple of the albums you mentioned and still couldnt get into it... dont know why exactly cause they hav my ideal "formula" if you will of music, wry wit and storytelling (from all accounts).. anyhow, sometime last week i was on some blog and saw "funny little frog" by B&S and i thought "what a dolt" - thats not B&S its GHTG! well... guess i'm the dolt!! and the tune really got me - dont know if its cause i already knew every word and note but i loved the way it sounded so i looked up where it came from and dl'ed that album (The Life Pursuit), saw it had another earlier rendition of GHTG song and i dove in. i have been listenin to that album now practically on repeat! holy crap its good! i honestly honestly would never have guessed that i would ever like B&S - sorry guys but... so, its now in the mail on the way to my home as well as a few of the singles that they put out for it.. like CO, they make great b-sides and eps... i think my fave tracks have to be "The Blues Are Still Blue", "white collar boy" and "cup of tea"...an Derek is right on the money with ""Your Cover's Blown"... ALL friggin good. now going thru arab strap and its great on first listen so i must say now with some unabashed sentimentality "i adore b&S"... thanks folks!!
tony
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derek

derek


Posts : 260
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 43
Location : New York, NY

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 3:52 pm

This made me smile.

So glad you've seen the light, Tony!

You get "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" yet? That's the one that came out before "The Life Pursuit", and the songs are more in that vein. "If She Wants Me" and "Piazza New York Catcher" are standouts... as is the overtly religious "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love". (Stu's devout!) That's about the closest to Christian rock I'll ever listen to.
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paul




Posts : 470
Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 36
Location : The Internet

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 4:16 pm

Hooray!!! We got a convert!!! I'm grinnin my face off.

Quite honestly I can't into the early singles myself. The original "Lazy Line Painter Jane", for instance, I hate - (though I LOVE it when it's just Stu and Stevie singing on BBC Sessions) "Dog On Wheels" is pretty catchy. But everything since DCW have been fantastic EP's, Books being my fav, every track on that is stellar. "The Life Pursuit", the song, not the album, from the Blues Are Still Blue EP is amazing. I still don't understand why it's not on the LP. Heck they had to make the vinyl a double, which means quite a lot of dead space was left on each of the four sided record, they should have stuck "TLP" on it, as well as a few of the other massive amount of non-album singles produced in those sessions.
Naughtily, my favorite tracks from The Life Pursuit are the ones with the f-bombs.... The sunshine rock ones were great at first but their appeal has kind of worn off with age. "Act Of Apostle I" & "II" are hands down amazing. And I prefer the original "Funny Little Frog" to the GTHG version - I think I might have liked it better on GHTG had Catherine or Alex sang it.

It'll take you a bit to get into the earlier stuff. I do love my Tigermilk and Sinister (...and Arab Strap and especially Peasant), but it took a long time to love them. Acquired taste I suppose.
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derek

derek


Posts : 260
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 43
Location : New York, NY

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 4:36 pm

paul wrote:
And I prefer the original "Funny Little Frog" to the GTHG version - I think I might have liked it better on GHTG had Catherine or Alex sang it.

It'll take you a bit to get into the earlier stuff. I do love my Tigermilk and Sinister (...and Arab Strap and especially Peasant), but it took a long time to love them. Acquired taste I suppose.

I don't know which one I prefer... but I love the GHTG "Funny Little Frog".

Funny too... I always thought it was easier to get into the early B&S. But maybe that's just cause I got into them around "Arab Strap". Seems like all the "hits" are on the first few albums.
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tonybolony

tonybolony


Posts : 904
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 50
Location : Kingston, Ontario, Canada

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 5:00 pm

derek wrote:
This made me smile.

So glad you've seen the light, Tony!

You get "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" yet? That's the one that came out before "The Life Pursuit", and the songs are more in that vein. "If She Wants Me" and "Piazza New York Catcher" are standouts... as is the overtly religious "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love". (Stu's devout!) That's about the closest to Christian rock I'll ever listen to.

well.. it was hard-come by but it was worth it now... i'm listenin to DCW now and i do like "if she wants me" and "caught in love" but you forgot the stellar best-titled song ever "Lord Anthony"!! i do rather enjoy the story of it tho he's naught like me... was much to shy and quiet kid in school...
i actually dont mind some Christian rock... some mind.. an i find i get turned off of bands that are overly hostile in their lyrics.. its a refreshin change to hear the opposite to be honest.. only like b&s more.. Very Happy
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tonybolony

tonybolony


Posts : 904
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 50
Location : Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Belle & Sebastian... validated Empty
PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 5:03 pm

paul wrote:
Hooray!!! We got a convert!!! I'm grinnin my face off.

Quite honestly I can't into the early singles myself. The original "Lazy Line Painter Jane", for instance, I hate - (though I LOVE it when it's just Stu and Stevie singing on BBC Sessions) "Dog On Wheels" is pretty catchy. But everything since DCW have been fantastic EP's, Books being my fav, every track on that is stellar. "The Life Pursuit", the song, not the album, from the Blues Are Still Blue EP is amazing. I still don't understand why it's not on the LP. Heck they had to make the vinyl a double, which means quite a lot of dead space was left on each of the four sided record, they should have stuck "TLP" on it, as well as a few of the other massive amount of non-album singles produced in those sessions.
Naughtily, my favorite tracks from The Life Pursuit are the ones with the f-bombs.... The sunshine rock ones were great at first but their appeal has kind of worn off with age. "Act Of Apostle I" & "II" are hands down amazing. And I prefer the original "Funny Little Frog" to the GTHG version - I think I might have liked it better on GHTG had Catherine or Alex sang it.

It'll take you a bit to get into the earlier stuff. I do love my Tigermilk and Sinister (...and Arab Strap and especially Peasant), but it took a long time to love them. Acquired taste I suppose.

i too am liking the later singles/eps so far.. i'd rank the acts pretty high up myself and i'm on the fence for Froggy about which version i prefer... i love the up-temponess of the b&s one..
tony
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derek

derek


Posts : 260
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 43
Location : New York, NY

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 5:29 pm

tonybolony wrote:
derek wrote:
This made me smile.

So glad you've seen the light, Tony!

You get "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" yet? That's the one that came out before "The Life Pursuit", and the songs are more in that vein. "If She Wants Me" and "Piazza New York Catcher" are standouts... as is the overtly religious "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love". (Stu's devout!) That's about the closest to Christian rock I'll ever listen to.

well.. it was hard-come by but it was worth it now... i'm listenin to DCW now and i do like "if she wants me" and "caught in love" but you forgot the stellar best-titled song ever "Lord Anthony"!! i do rather enjoy the story of it tho he's naught like me... was much to shy and quiet kid in school...
i actually dont mind some Christian rock... some mind.. an i find i get turned off of bands that are overly hostile in their lyrics.. its a refreshin change to hear the opposite to be honest.. only like b&s more.. Very Happy

You're absolutely right! "Lord Anthony" was written fairly early in the B&S canon and was only available as a really crappy bootleg for some time. And even in that crappy bootleg version it was one of my absolute favorite songs. I can't tell you how excited I was when they finally recorded a proper version of it for DCW!

There are still a few of those allusive B&S tunes that have never been properly recorded. I believe the song "Tigermilk" is the most sought after. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I don't think there's even a bootleg of that song. I don't believe I've ever heard it. Pretty much the only B&S song I can say that about (except for the ones they are currently recording, of course!).
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derek

derek


Posts : 260
Join date : 2009-05-06
Age : 43
Location : New York, NY

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyWed Apr 07, 2010 5:33 pm

paul wrote:
It'll take you a bit to get into the earlier stuff. I do love my Tigermilk and Sinister (...and Arab Strap and especially Peasant), but it took a long time to love them. Acquired taste I suppose.

I think Peasant is my favorite album. Even though it's the band's least favorite. I love how collaborative it is, and the tunes are stellar! "Don't Leave the Light on Baby", "There's Too Much Love", "I Fought in a War" and "Women's Realm" are absolute classics.
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paul




Posts : 470
Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 36
Location : The Internet

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PostSubject: Re: Belle & Sebastian... validated   Belle & Sebastian... validated EmptyFri Apr 23, 2010 8:38 pm

I was reading through the B&S website Q&A and came across this question & answer, gave me quite a chuckle:

Quote :

From: Fausto
Q.Which is your favorite Camera Obscura song?

A. lunar sea, probably to the annoyance of tracyanne!

they have so many great ones, easily my favourite band of the last 20 years!

Stuart - 28/03/10

On that note, it's my favorite song to play, because I never remember the words and just make some up.
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